SWAMI SIVANANDA | SADHANA : A Textbook of The Psychology & Practice of The Techniques of Spiritual Perfection | TPPTSP | Rajasic mind always wants new things . It wants variety . It gets disgusted with monotony . It wants change of place , change of food , change of everything . One should not be afraid of monotony . One should have asinine patience , adamantine will and untiring perseverance . Then only one can succeed in Yoga . One who wants something new always , is unfit for Yoga .

VEDANTA IS THE CULMINATION OF THE VEDAS . It is entering into the study of BRAHMAN . It is the science which raises the human above the plane of worldliness . It is the rational method of meditating on the Supreme Absolute , the Eternal , the Infinite . Vedanta is the culmination of human experience and is the end of the faculty of thinking . It is the greatest and the highest knowledge . This wisdom was revealed to the ancient sages .

The Rishis and sages of yore have made experiments and researches in meditation and given to the world their spiritual experiences . These are all authoritative . You must not spend much time in making the preliminary experiments once more . Your whole life-time is not sufficient for making these experiments and researches . The experiences of sages are like ready-made compressed tablets . You will have to simply follow their instructions implicitly with perfect , unswerving faith and devotion . Then alone can you make any progress in the spiritual path and attain the goal of life .

In order to practise Sadhana for the attainment of absolute freedom , you should know in the beginning itself its technique and method . You should know the nature of bondage , the cause of bondage and the way of getting rid of bondage . You have to make a searching study of life and know its mysteries .

|| KARMA ||

You are born on this earth-plane on account of your Karmas ( actions ) . . . This body and this condition of mind are both the results of effects of past Karmas . What is Karma ?

A Vasana or desire arises . Then you exert to possess the object . This is Karma . Thought itself is the real Karma . Physical action is only its manifestation . Then you enjoy the object . This is Bhoga . This Bhoga strengthens and fattens the Vasana . The Chakra or wheel of Vasana , Karma , Bhoga , is ever revolving . Give up Bhoga . Practise renunciation , discrimination and dispassion . Destroy the Vasanas by eradicating ignorance ( Ajnana ) through Brahma-Jnana , the Knowledge of the Imperishable . Then alone the wheel which binds one to this Samsara will stop revolving . Then alone you become an Atmavan or Knower of the Self .

|| WHO IS A KILLER OF ATMAN ? ||

Forgetting the Self by indulging in sensual pleasures , is killing of Atman . Even after somehow getting this rare human birth , with an innate tendency for Nivritti , one who does not strive for the liberation of the soul , is a killer of Atman . One is not an Atmavan but an Atmaha .

|| RENUNCIATION ||

The Atman can be realised only through renunciation . . . You have enjoyed sensual objects for so many years in this birth . If there has not come satisfaction in you till now , when will it come , then ? Do not run after the mirage of sensual objects . The senses are deluding you . Develop dispassion and renunciation . Realise your Atman . Then only you will get eternal satisfaction , everlasting peace and immortal bliss . Wake up from your slumber of ignorance , O worldly fool !

If your body-clothes catch fire , with what celerity you want to run towards water for cooling you ? You must feel like this from the burning fire of Samsara . You should feel that you are roasted in the fire of Samsara . Vairagya ( dispassion ) and Mumukshutva ( strong yearning for liberation ) should dawn in you . You should run to the Guru for saving you .

Enjoyment of objects strengthens the Vasanas or Trishnas ( cravings ) and makes the mind more restless . Enjoyment cannot bring satisfaction of desires . Further , Trishna drains the energy and weakens the senses .

When you dream , you see the events of fifty years within an hour . You actually feel that fifty years have passed . Which is correct , the time of one hour of waking consciousness or the fifty years of dreaming consciousness ? Both are correct . The waking state and the dreaming state are of the same quality or nature . They are equal ( Samana ) . The only difference is that the waking state is a long dream or Deerghasvapna . It will be realised that this life on earth is only a fantastic dream of the mind when the Supreme Absolute or Para-BRAHMAN is realised .

Ahamgraha Upasana is Nirguna Upasana . The aspirant meditates on one's own Self as BRAHMAN , identifing one's individual self with the Supreme Self or BRAHMAN , trying to take out the Self that is hidden , within the body of five sheaths . Hence the significant name , " Ahamgraha " Upasana .

— All these are Upasana-Vakyas of the Upanishads . These are all Pratika Upasanas .

Pratika is a symbol of BRAHMAN . All these are symbols of BRAHMAN . You can realise BRAHMAN through worship of these Pratikas . You will have to feel that BRAHMAN is hidden in these Pratikas . You will have to think that the Adhishthana or substratum of these Pratikas is BRAHMAN . These are some of the ways of doing the Upasana of BRAHMAN .

|| CONTROL OF THE SENSES ||

The senses should be perfectly controlled in order to be able to concentrate on BRAHMAN . The eyes and ears also are as much turbulent and mischievous as the tongue . The eyes always want to see new forms , new scenes , new pictures and new places which the mind has heard of during conversation with other people . If you have not seen Kashmir , if you hear from those who visited Kashmir ,

" Kashmir is a lovely place . The springs and sceneries are wonderful " ,

the eyes helped by the mind will agitate you again and again till you actually see Kashmir . The eyes and the ears should cease from desiring .

The two most troublesome of the senses are the tongue and the genital . One who has got an appetite for the objects of the tongue and the genital is unfit for the practice of Vedantic Sadhana .

The four means of Sadhana should be well practised and only a master of these Sadhanas can take up the practice of Vedantic Sadhana .

|| THE MIND AND ITS WORKS ||

Mind is Jagat . The mind moves the senses , the Pranas , etc . Mind is the cause of bondage and liberation . A keen study of the mind and its works is necessary for the study of Vedanta .

The presiding deity of the mind is Moon or Soma . Moon is cool . It is formed of Apas-Tattva ( water ) . Water has a tendency to run downwards . So also the tendency of the mind is always to run downwards towards sensual objects .

The external ear , the eyeballs , etc , are only instruments . They are not the real senses of Indriyas . The real centres or senses are in the brain or most correctly in the astral body ( Sukshma Sarira ) . If the auditory nerve and the vision-centre in the brain are affected you can neither hear nor see . So is the case with the other senses also .

During dream the mind itself does the function of all the senses , despite the absence of the external instruments or the senses , such as eyeballs , etc . In the mind all the senses are blended . Really it is the mind that hears , tastes , feels , etc . This proves that the real senses are within . The eyeballs , tongue , external ears , nose , hands , legs , etc . , are mere instruments ( Karanas ) .

The mind does the function of Sankalpa and Vikalpa .

It thinks : " Whether I can go to Dehra Dun or not ? "The Buddhi or the intellect decides : " I must go . "

Ahamkara , the ego , arrogates . Chitta which is the store-house of Samskaras or impressions makes the preparation and gives orders to the senses . Then the senses act . The legs move . The eyes see .

After you reach Dehra Dun the Vritti or wave of thought that was agitating you to see Dehra Dun subsides or gets dissolved ( Laya ) . Then you get a temporary peace , after the gratification of your desire .

Strike a vessel made up of bell metal with the tuning fork . It will vibrate . Even so the mind vibrates if any one abuses or praises you , if you feel pain or pleasure . During praise and pleasure , the mind expands . During censure and pain it contracts .

Mind is miniature-Maya . When the functioning of the mind stops , and when the mind is dissolved into the Absolute , there is Self-realisation .

|| THE GURU AND THE DISCIPLE ||

The aspirant in olden days used to approach the Guru , with a bundle of sticks ( Samit ) in hand , for spiritual instruction . What does this indicate ? One prays to the preceptor ,

It is Guru's grace that removes the veil of ignorance of the disciple . The Guru's grace penetrates the heart of the disciple and raises the Brahmakara-vritti in the disciple . The highly exalted BRAHMANishtha Guru , for whom there is no world , comes down from the exalted state to teach the disciple .

|| VEDANTIC ETHICS ||

If you want to practise Vedanta or Jnana Yoga smile always , be cheerful always .

One who is gloomy , who is cheerless , who has a castor-oil face or Sunday-face cannot become a Vedantin , and is not an Adhikari or qualified person for the practice of Vedanta . One should be shut up in a cell , as a source of infection or contamination for others . Shun the company of such a negative person .

One of Viveka alone is fit for the practice of Vedantic Sadhana and one of Viveka is always peaceful and joyful .

|| THE NATURE OF BRAHMAN ||

BRAHMAN is the Absolute-Existence which is of the Nature of Knowledge-Bliss .

The world itself shines as BRAHMAN when the veil of ignorance is torn down by the dawn of Knowledge of the Imperishable . See BRAHMAN in your Guru , BRAHMAN in the world , BRAHMAN in everything .

In reality there is no creation . The world itself is an appearance of BRAHMAN . The world is superimposed upon BRAHMAN through Adhyaropa . Through Apavada-Yukti the superimposition is sublated or negated and everything is realised to be the Absolute BRAHMAN .

Only the train moves , but you do not move . Only the boat moves , but you do not move . Even so , only the body moves , but the Indweller or the Silent Sakshi , the Witness , which is identical with the Absolute BRAHMAN or Atman , never moves .

The word " Atman " is used with reference to the soul in the individual . The term " BRAHMAN " is used with reference to the same Soul as the Soul of all beings and objects in the Universe .

|| BRAHMAN IS BLISS ||

The sovereign returns from a long journey to the palace at night , and is dead tired , wanting immediate rest . The ruler does not want to talk even to the Maharani or the spouse . The objects do not afford any pleasure . The ruler wants to enjoy the bliss of sleep . From where does bliss come in deep sleep , when there are no objects of enjoyment ? The ruler ( or the Jiva ) in deep sleep comes in contact with the All-blissful Supreme Soul and refreshes and strengthens . BRAHMAN is the source of all peace and bliss .

|| ISVARA & JIVA ||

The causal body ( Karanasarira ) of the individual soul and of Isvara is one and the same . In the Jiva it is individual Avidya . Isvara's causal body is Cosmic and is called Maya .

The Jiva is called Visva , Taijasa and Prajna in the three states of waking , dreaming and deep sleep experiences , and the corresponding name for the Cosmic Principle is Virat , Hiranyagarbha and Isvara . The Kutastha-Atman in the Jiva is identical with BRAHMAN , the Absolute .

|| THE NATURE OF MAYA ||

Maya is Trigunatmika . Tamoguna is darkness and inertia . Rajoguna is passion and activity . Sattvaguna is divine light and purity .

You cannot detect your own faults on account of the force of Avidya . Avidya is the name for Maya in the individual or the Jiva . You always think that you are free from defects , that you are full of virtuous qualities , that you are the most perfect one in the world . This is Maya .

Maya is Satya or Truth for the worldly-minded . It is Anirvachaneeya or inexpressible for a Viveki or one of discrimination . It is Tuccha or nothing for a liberated sage or Jivanmukta who is identifying oneself with Satchidananda BRAHMAN .

Vasanas and Trishnas , desires and cravings , can be destroyed in toto only by annihilating Avidya or Ajnana , the source for this Samsara , just as a tree can be destroyed only by annihilating its root . If you cut the branches of a tree , again they will grow . So you must pluck out the root itself . Avidya can be destroyed by knowledge of the Imperishable or BRAHMAN , and not by indiscriminate suppression of the senses .

Destruction of Avidya will lead to the destruction of Raga-Dvesha . Raga and Dvesha are the modifications or effects of Avidya or ignorance .

Ajnana is absence of the Knowledge of BRAHMAN . Just as the trees born on the soil of the mountain hide the mountain , just as the clouds born through the sun's rays hide the sun itself , so also Ajnana born from the Sakti of BRAHMAN hides the Chaitanya or BRAHMAN .

Ajnana is twofold : Toola and Moola . Toola-Ajnana is ignorance in regard to the objects outside . Moola-Ajnana is ignorance covering the Self within .

|| THE PROJECTION OF THE WORLD ||

In summer the whole earth is parched . As soon as there is a shower the seeds sprout and plants come out . They were in an unmanifested state ( Avyakta ) before the rains . Even so the world which is in a manifested state had an unmanifested state and will become unmanifest again . It has come out of Maya , the causal body of Isvara , and will return to it in the end .

The earth , water , fire , air and ether are all productions of Maya . Water is more subtle and pervasive than earth . Fire is more subtle and pervasive than water . Air is more subtle and pervasive than fire . Akasa is more subtle and pervasive than air .

If you keep some jasmine flowers on your table , the aroma or fragrance spreads throughout the room . The fragrance is more pervasive than the flower . The flower is in one spot , but the fragrance pervades the atmosphere . The moisture of vapour is more pervasive than the earth . Sun's light is more pervasive than water . Akasa which is the originating substance for the other four Tattvas is all-pervading . All the four elements are rooted in the all-pervading Akasa .

From BRAHMAN or the Supreme Being sprang the five elements . Akasa was born first . Akasa is ether or space . It is Akasa or space that is the abode for the four other elements . It is the vessel or the container . There was Gati or motion in Akasa . That motion is Vayu or air . There was heat during motion of air . Fire was born from air . Fire cannot burn without air . Fire cooled and became water . Water solidified and became earth .

Ahamkara or the ego has connection with the intellect ( Buddhi ) . Their abode is the Vijnanamaya Kosa . Mind ( Manas ) has connection with the Chitta . Their abode is the Manomaya Kosa .

The light of Surya ( sun ) brightens the intellect . The heat of Surya gives heat to Prana and thus maintains the heat of the body .

Just as the mind is the dividing wall between the soul and the Prana , so also Prana ( vital air , energy ) is the boundary-wall between the mind and the body .

Above the mind is the Buddhi . The Buddhi or intellect is made up of Agni-Tattva ( fire-principle ) . Below the mind is Prana which is also made up of fire . Between fire ( intellect above ) and fire ( Prana below ) is the mind ( water ) . The presiding deity of the mind is moon ( Chandra ) . Dry up this mind ( water ) through the fire of Vichara ( intellect ) , or the fire of Prana ( Pranayama ) , or both . You will attain eternal peace , everlasting bliss .

|| SAMADHI ||

Samadhi is the Turiya or the Fourth State which is Pure Consciousness or the Supreme Absolute where even a tinge of dual consciousness does not exist .

Raja Yogis practise Nirodha-Samadhi . Jnana Yogis or Vedantins practise Badha-Samadhi . In the practice of Nirodha-Samadhi the Raja Yogi stops all the Vrittis of the mind by concentrating on one form .

In the practice of Badha-Samadhi the Jnana Yogi abandons all names and forms and takes up the one essence viz , Sat-Chit-Ananda BRAHMAN that is the substratum for all these names and forms .

There is Vyapakata in the Sadhana of a Jnana Yogi . One does Sadhana even while walking . Wherever one sees one tries to see the one underlying essence and rejects the names and forms , and is in Sahaja-Samadhi even while moving .

But , a Raja Yogi sits and meditates , in need of a steady , definite pose , and so cannot be in Samadhi while walking or moving .

One who has experienced Nirvikalpa Samadhi will not return to the state of embodiment once again .

|| METHODS OF VEDANTIC SADHANA ||

Sravana , Manana and Nididhyasana are the three stages of Vedantic Sadhana .

Sravana is hearing of the Truth . The Abheda-Bodha-Vakya should be heard from the BRAHMANishtha-Guru . Then Vedantic scriptures and treatises have to be carefully studied for the purpose of properly grasping the meaning of the great Mahavakyas .

Vedantic Granthas are of two kinds : the Pramana-granthas and the Prameya-granthas . One should always study standard works on Vedanta . A complete and exhaustive treatise on the subject has to be studied with the greatest care . Then only the full knowledge of Vedanta will dawn .

Works like the Advaitasiddhi , Chitsukhi , Khandanakhandakhadya , Brahmasutras , etc , are Pramana-granthas , for they refute other theories and establish the Advaita-Tattva through logic and argumentation .

Works like the Upanishads , the Bhagavadgita and the Yogavasishtha are Prameya-granthas , for they merely state the Absolute Truth with authority and do not indulge in reasoning for refuting or establishing anything . They are intuitional works , whereas the former are intellectual .

The mind should be pure and tranquil before starting Vedantic Sadhana . Keeping the Vasana in the mind is keeping a black cobra within and feeding it with milk . Your life is ever in danger . Kill these Vasanas through Vichara , Vairagya and meditation on the Atman .

are only intended for giving preliminary instructions to the neophytes or young aspirants ; for they cannot grasp at once the Ajativada or the theory of non-evolution . When you read the passages which treat of creation , always remember that all this is only Adhyaropa or superimposition .

Never forget this . Never think even for a second that the world is real . Only through Apavadayukti or refutation of superimposition can you establish the Kevala-Advaita-Siddhanta . If the world is real , if duality is real , you cannot have experience of Advaitic Realisation .

If the impurity of egoism or Ahamkara-Mala is destroyed , the other two impurities , viz , Kama-Mala ( impurity of desire ) and Karma-Mala ( impurity of actions ) will be destroyed by themselves . How , then , can there be Prarabdha for a Jivanmukta or the liberated sage that is one with the Supreme Absolute .

|| OBSTACLES IN VEDANTIC SADHANA ||

Ahamkara is the greatest obstacle to Self-realisation .

" I know everything . My view or opinion alone is correct . What I do is right . That one does not know anything . Everybody should follow what I say . Everybody should obey me . I am free from any kind of fault . I am full of auspicious qualities . I am very intelligent . That one is very stupid . That one is wretched . That one has got many defects . I am wise . I am beautiful . "

Thus says the egoistic one .

This is the nature of Rajasic Ahamkara . One hides one's own faults , exaggerates and advertises one's own abilities and qualities , belittles others , condemns others , superimposes faults on others which they have not got , sees not good but evil in others , superimposes on oneself several good qualities which one does not possess . That one cannot practise Vedantic Sadhana , and is unfit for the path of Jnana .

Raga and Dvesha constitute the great Samsara of the Jiva . They have to be destroyed through the knowledge of the Supreme BRAHMAN . Either through proper understanding and discrimination or through Pratipaksha Bhavana these currents should be destroyed .

Liberation is attained by simplicity , by carefulness , by purity , by controlling the passions and by following the footprints of saints and sages .

Through Vedantic Sadhana the Brahmakara-Vritti is generated . The bamboo strikes against the other bamboos and fire is generated . The whole forest is burnt . There is a huge conflagration . Then the fire subsides by itself . Even so , the Brahmakara-Vritti that is generated in the Sattvika-Manas through meditation on BRAHMAN or the significance of the " Tat-Tvam-Asi " Mahavakya destroys Avidya or ignorance and its effects and leads to the attainment of Brahma-Jnana , and finally dies by itself when the Supreme BRAHMAN is realised .

The paste of strychnos potatorum ( Nirmala seeds ) removes all dirt in the water and helps it to settle at the bottom of the vessel . Along with the dirt the paste also disappears . Even so , the Brahmakara-Vritti destroys all worldly ( Vishayakara ) Vrittis and finally perishes by itself after the dawn of the knowledge of the Imperishable .

|| THE NATURE OF THE JNANI ||

The Jnana Yogi practises neither Pratyahara nor Chittavritti-nirodha like the Raja Yogi . One tries to behold the One Undivided Essence of Satchidananda in all names and forms . One stands as a witness or Sakshi of all the Vrittis . All Vrittis gradually die by themselves .

There is no body from the Drishti or view of the sage . How can there be Prarabdha then , for a Jnani ? The Jnani is one with the Absolute and hence no change takes place in the being . One is Santam , Sivam and Advaitam . One is a Jivanmukta , is liberated in this very life itself , the body is like a burnt cloth or a sword that is changed into gold through the touch of the philosopher's stone . The ego is burnt by the fire of Supreme Wisdom .

" Hammer on ! hammer on ! " is the first principle of success . Without work you can never succeed . A lazy person is bound to perish in the " struggle for existence " , one cannot live , one must die .

Rise to the GOD-Consciousness to such a degree that for you your past relations may become a complete blank . . . Your relation to the world should become the relation of GOD to the world ; an entire change .

From one point of view , mind and intellect are not Brahman ; but on the other hand , mind and intellect are nothing else but Brahman , even the body is nothing else but Brahman , and Everything in the world is nothing else but Brahman .

Can you transfer your consciousness ? Put it here , your consciousness should sit here . Can it sit here ? Now it is inside your body . It is operating through the body and you are seeing through the aperture of your eyes and then perceiving a person like me here .

Immanuel Kant is said to have been woken up by Hume from " dogmatic slumber " and brought about a " Copernican revolution " in the field of philosophy . In Kant we begin to reap the ripe fruits of philosophy , for it is here that it shows signs of its having reached maturity and full development .

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PRABODHASUDHAKARA | THE NECTAR OCEAN OF ENLIGHTENMENT | PART 2 | DEVOTION | SRI ADI SANKARACARYA | TRANSLATION & BHASYA BY SAMVID | PSNOE SERIES || The devotional fervour which the author exhibits in the four concluding sections of this work would appear to be in sharp contrast with the author's relentless pursuit of truth through rational enquiry , found in the earlier sections .

I am composing the Atmabodha , or Self-Knowledge , to serve the needs of those who have been purified through the practice of austerities, and who are peaceful in heart , free from cravings , and desirous of Liberation .

One who has one's mind Self-absorbed through Yoga , and who has the vision of sameness everywhere , sees this Self existing in everything , and everything in one's Self . | One who sees Me in everything , and sees all things in Me — I do not go out of one's vision , and one also is not lost to My vision .

Some minds with too much self reliance in themselves , and without considering the true nature of things , give them different forms and colours , according to their own conceptions and opinions , though far from truth .

VOL 1 | BOOK II | CHAP XVII | VERSE 10 | ON THE CONTENTS OF THE WORK | IT CONTAINS SIX BOOKS all fraught with sentences full of reason , and each distinct from the other in its import . It has many verses containing chosen examples on all subjects .

DANGEROUS HABIT OF CONSTANT SELF JUSTIFICATION | To go on claiming this so-called freedom , which is no more than a subjection to certain ignorant cosmic forces , is to indulge in a blind contradiction and to claim the right to lead a double life

Imagination in the mind always exaggerates . Exaggeration is a modification of lie . Aspirants should not exaggerate . They should utter words with mathematical and scientific precision . An aspirant is asked to give up company and observe Mouna .

MahaBhava is a Divine Ecstasy . It shakes the body and mind to their very foundation . It is like a huge elephant entering a small hut . The house shakes to its foundation . Perhaps it falls to pieces .

Athato bhaktim vyakhyasyamah | 1. Now , therefore , we shall teach Bhakti , or the Religion of Divine Love . 2. Now , therefore , I will try to explain the process of devotional service . 3. Now , therefore , the doctrine of devotion we shall expound .

Rama has written in simple language , the ordinary thoughts and ideas that satisfy the mind and show the Divine Vision to the writer both within and without . The whole world shining like the diamond is becoming the Divine Ocean .

OM! In Humans , The Past exists only in memory , which is retention , replaying , reconfiguration of stories , fantasies , fiction ; The Future is expectation and fantasy : These thoughts play in The Present , creating a false sense of continuity of personality — Nothing but DREAMING it is .|| SSSV 32.3 ||